Results 5,881-5,900 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I wish to advise the Deputy that under Section 22 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002, income consisting of an award under this Act shall be disregarded for the purposes of income tax assessment under the Income Tax Acts. Any payment in respect of an award under this Act shall be treated in all respects as if it were a payment following a civil action for damages in respect of...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers commenced operation, with provisional recognition from my Department, in September 2007. It has a current enrolment of 21 pupils. When granting provisional recognition, the school was informed by my Department that the provision of accommodation was the responsibility of the school Patron. My Department grant aids the rental of such accommodation. My...
- Written Answers — Education Research Schemes: Education Research Schemes (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS), which was established in 2000, provides funding for cutting-edge research in the humanities, social sciences, including business and law. The IRCHSS operates a suite of interlinked research schemes, including the Government of Ireland Post-Graduate Scholarship Scheme. The International Assessment Board for the...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware the Department has provided significant additional school accommodation in that general area, which should relieve pressure on enrolments at the school to which he refers. The Forward Planning Section of my Department is in the process of identifying the areas where significant additional accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level for future...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Department will deliver a new 8 classroom building this year, as the first phase, to meet the needs of the school to which the Deputy refers. The Forward Planning Section of my Department is in the process of identifying the areas where significant additional accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level for future years and the area referred to by the Deputy will...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Department of Education and Science operates a number of bank accounts with commercial banking organisations. These accounts are principally used to make payments by Electronic Funds Transfer or to receive funds which are subsequently transferred to this Department's Exchequer account in the Central Bank. Generally my Department does not have fees levied on its accounts. My...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The amount spent by my Department on bottled water for the last three years was â¬5,869.74 in 2006; â¬2,998.32 in 2007 and â¬3,259.74 in 2008. My Department's policy is to replace bottled water dispensers with filtered tap water where possible.
- Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Millennium Partnership Fund has been in operation since 2000. It forms part of the European Social Fund-aided package for education disadvantage. Funding for the scheme in 2001-02 was â¬1m. This increased to â¬2m in 2002-03. The allocation for 2008-9 academic year was â¬2.18m. This allocation was distributed among 56 Partnerships/community groups around the country. An external...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The correspondence to which the Deputy refers relates to the requirement for contractors to demonstrate economic capacity to carry out a project. Economic and Financial Standing is one of the criteria laid down in the EU Procurement Directives for pre-selection of contractors tendering for building contracts. Contracting Authorities have an obligation to ensure that, as part of suitability...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including special needs assistants. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am pleased to confirm that my Department has recently provided funds to the Galway City Vocational Education Committee to enable them to close the sale on the site for the school mentioned by the Deputy. This school is included in my Department's PPP school building programme. The make up and timing of further school bundles from this programme will be determined by my Department in...
- Written Answers — Student Support Schemes: Student Support Schemes (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The three third level student support schemes, administered by the Local Authorities and the Vocational Education Committees on behalf of my Department, offer financial assistance to eligible students attending approved third-level courses. Financial assistance will continue to be available for individual students through the maintenance grant schemes, the Special Rate of maintenance grant,...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am committed to providing information in relation to the allocation of teachers to schools and as a new feature on my Department's website. The process has begun with the provision earlier this year of initial information on the allocation of mainstream classroom teachers to primary schools under the revised schedule for 2009/10. In terms of the position at individual primary school level...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The correspondence to which the Deputy refers has been received in my Department and it will be responded to shortly. With regard to the subject matter of the correspondence, my Department procured the property in question initially to act as a temporary home for a special school pending the delivery of a building project for that school and then to accommodate, on a permanent basis, the...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: My Department provided devolved funding in 2008 for an extension project at a school in the Youghal area. The progression of other projects in this area will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. Forward Planning Section of the Department is continuing the process of identifying the areas where significant additional...
- Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I wish to advise the Deputy that under the terms of Section 4 (1) of the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002, the Minister for Education & Science may, by order, provide for the insertion in the Schedule of any industrial school, reformatory school, orphanage, children's home, special school which was established for the purpose of providing education services to children with a...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current...
- Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I presume the Deputy is referring to my Department's Free Fees Initiative scheme in which there is a three year residency clause as part of the eligibility criterion. Currently, under the terms of the Free Fees Initiative the Exchequer meets the tuition fees of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study. The main conditions are that students must be...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to primary and post primary schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support....
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: Economic and Financial Standing is one of the criteria laid down in the EU Procurement Directives for pre-selection of contractors tendering for building contracts. Contracting Authorities have an obligation to ensure that, as part of suitability assessment for placing on tender lists for projects, contractors have adequate economic and financial capacity. One of the key criteria for...